Technology

Ebenezer Howard's "Garden City" Revisited

Nina Rappaport of UrbanOmnibus explores the history of the urban factory, examining the social, economic, and environmental benefits of the modern vertical factory industry.

August 31, 2011 - UrbanOmnibus

Pinpointing the City's Center

Google Maps searches include a pinpoint of what the search engine has determined are the centers of cities. One artist has built sculptures of those pinpoints in their real-life locations.

August 31, 2011 - Architizer

Electric Facades Brighten Buildings

In Frankfurt's main shopping district, the Zeilgalerie shopping mall brightens up the night with thousands of programmable LEDs built into its new facade.

August 28, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

NYC's Answer to Silicon Valley

Joining Yelp, Net-A-Porter, and Apple, tech companies find a new hub in Union Square (aka "Silicon Square").

August 27, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

NYC Transit Extends the Life of C Trains

Due to budget constraints, the current C train (code name: R32) will continue to serve New Yorkers until 2017, making it one of the oldest subway line in the world.

August 26, 2011 - The New York Times

The Boon in British Cycling

A new report from the London School of Economics looks at the “cycling economy” that is taking the United Kingdom by storm and the economic benefits generated by individual cyclists.

August 25, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

Creating A Silicon Valley in Russia

Officials in Russia are hoping to create their own version of Silicon Valley by luring tech companies to the Skolkovo innovation hub.

August 24, 2011 - Financial Times

Mag-Lev Project Meets Approval in Japan

Japanese officials recently approved plans to build a 320-mile magnetic levitation train system. The $114 billion project is expected to begin construction in 2014.

August 23, 2011 - Ecomagination

My Future City is Houston?

The BMW Guggenheim Lab has released an online urban planning game called "Urbanology," which asks a serious of questions to determine the type of city you think is the future.

August 22, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

Governor Backs Environmental Alternative To 'Big Solar'

Environmental opposition to large solar and wind projects in the desert usually based on their biological impacts has long baffled many renewable power advocates. CA Gov. Jerry Brown expressed support for the alternative, 'distributed generation'.

August 22, 2011 - Los Angeles Times - Business

A Fictional City Traced in the Desert

A recent art project in Peru utilizes a robotic vehicle to trace a scale outline of a city into the empty desert, raising questions about urbanization in deserts and the formation of cities.

August 20, 2011 - We Make Money Not Art

Expanding the Panama Canal On Time and Under Budget

Completed in 1914, the project was the most ambitious undertaking by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in its time. Today, the $5.25 billion upgrade is in the works.

August 19, 2011 - The New York Times

Light and the City

A new film explores the impact of urban light pollution on humans and the natural environment, and calls on designers and planners to revise the way our cities are lit.

August 19, 2011 - The City Dark

The Science of Smart Cities

As part of a special issue, Scientific American magazine examines the science of "Better Smarter Cities."

August 17, 2011 - Scientific American

Psst - Wanna Buy A Parking Spot?

A new app puts parking spots on the open market, as drivers sell access to the spots they are vacating.

August 16, 2011 - GOOD Magazine

Windfarm Concept Inspired by Schools of Fish

Current wind farm technology requires a lot of space between blades. A new report proposes that "counter-rotating vertical-axis wind turbines" would draw power more efficiently on less land.

August 15, 2011 - BBC News

BMW Unveils Design Alternatives for BART

A follow-up to last month's story, BMW Group DesignworksUSA released three interior concepts - each one more posh and modern than the last - for BART's "Fleet of the Future." No spy shots needed.

August 15, 2011 - The Huffington Post

Amman May Nix Bus Rapid Transit

The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) may no longer be pursuing a bus rapid transit (BRT) system because of opposition from within government circles.

August 13, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

Modeling The Urban System of Portland

A new program is being implemented in Portland, Oregon, to try to quantify and model the behavior of the city.

August 12, 2011 - Fast Company

Cities, Riots and Facial Recognition Technology

As riots engulf London, the role of technology in cities and crime-fighting comes into the spotlight. Some wonder whether this could usher in the age of facial recognition in cities.

August 11, 2011 - Forbes

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.